Title :
A review of the vaporizing liquid microthruster technology
Author :
Gao, Y. ; Ma, Y.F. ; Liu, J.T.
Author_Institution :
Beijing Inst. of Control Eng., Beijing, China
Abstract :
The microfabrication technology of MEMS has been successfully applied in the field of micropropulsion for micro/nano satellites. Among various types of MEMS micro thrusters developed so far, vaporizing liquid microthruster (VLM) has been widely explored for its ability to produce continuously variable thrust in the micro-Newton (μN) to milli-Newton (mN) range. VLM is a micromachined chamber which is heated by internal or external microheater to vaporize a liquid flow and eject the vapor jet through an exit converging-diverging nozzle of the microthruster. This paper presents a review of the current understanding of the VLM technology.
Keywords :
aerospace propulsion; artificial satellites; confined flow; micromachining; micromechanical devices; nanofabrication; nozzles; vaporisation; MEMS microfabrication technology; MEMS microthruster; VLM technology; continuously variable thrust; converging-diverging nozzle; external microheater; internal microheater; liquid flow vaporization; microNewton range; micromachined chamber; micropropulsion; microsatellites; milliNewton range; nanosatellites; vapor jet; vaporizing liquid microthruster technology; Micro/Nano Satellites; Micropropulsion; Vaporizing Liquid Microthruster;
Conference_Titel :
Fluid Machinery and Fluid Engineering, 2014 ISFMFE - 6th International Symposium on
Print_ISBN :
978-1-84919-907-0
DOI :
10.1049/cp.2014.1220
